The New Team
by Mulderette
Summary: Gibbs gets a new team. Just a silly little story. **Spoiler warning in that this is my take on a possible real life situation involving the show, but no actual show spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Spoiler warning for real life stuff regarding the contract situation of certain cast members - I am really sorry for putting that in the previous summary and apologize to anyone who didn't know.**

**This is just a short bit of silliness that I needed to get out of my system. I'm still so new to NCIS but love the show so much, the fandom, the fanfiction, all of it. I really hope the contract situation gets resolved soon and will be so disappointed if it is not.**

**For those who are reading it, the next chapter of Dinner Interrupted should be up sometime this weekend.**

**As always, thanks for reading :)**

Special Agent Jethro Gibbs leaned against his desk as his eyes moved over the lineup of the brand new NCIS employees…two new members of his field team, the new lab tech and new medical examiner. They had been thrown at him without any advance notice. Salary issues had forced his old team to leave and he missed them already.

"So...why don't you all introduce yourselves," Gibbs said unenthusiastically, his usually vibrant blue eyes looking somewhat dull and lifeless.

"I am Miguel Ramirez, Agent Extraordinaire and your new Senior Field Agent," a dark haired man replied cockily with a gleaming smile. He was very handsome, but in kind of a slimy way. "I am so pleased to meet you, Sir. I am certain we will become very good friends."

Gibbs already couldn't stand the guy. "I wouldn't be too sure of that." Without warning, he smacked Ramirez on the back of the head, eager to see the man's reaction, which was instant tear-filled eyes. Gibbs was appalled. This was even worse than he had anticipated.

"Wh...why did you do that, sir?" Ramirez stammered, looking fearfully at the team leader.

"Never call me, sir," Gibbs growled. "It's Gibbs. And I don't need a reason to slap you so you'd better get used to it." He didn't want these newbies calling him boss, it would bring back painful memories. He shook his head sadly. Hell would have frozen over before DiNozzo shed tears over one of his head smacks. He turned towards the other new man, a supposed computer expert. "And you are?"

"D...d...Donald McPherson," the young man stammered his eyes wide, obviously scared out of his wits.

Gibbs was about to say something, but was so taken aback by the young agent's pronounced trembling that he completely lost his train of thought. McGee might have been a little nervous around him sometimes, but nothing like this. This was just pathetic.

"My name is Gabby," a very young woman with bleached blonde hair tied in pony tails announced. She was noisily chewing gum and Gibbs couldn't help thinking that she looked like she belonged back in high school, maybe on the cheerleading squad. His opinion was further reinforced when she blew a huge pink bubble which finally popped. "Nice to meetcha, Gibbs." She offered him her hand which had the longest fingernails Gibbs had ever seen and smiled widely, displaying a mouthful of gum covered teeth.

"Nice to meet you too," Gibbs managed to say before abruptly turning away from her as he wondered who in god's name had made these hiring decisions. He sure wouldn't be bringing this Gabby girl any Caf Pows.

"Hello there," an older gentleman spoke as he lightly tapped on Gibbs' shoulder. "I am Dr. Henry R. Sparrow, but most people just call me Birdy. I am the new medical examiner. I'm eager to begin working with you, Jethro. I've heard wonderful things about you." Birdy? Gibbs almost spit out the coffee he was drinking. This was obviously some kind of colossal joke. It had to be. This was just some Ducky wannabe. There was no way his people could have been replaced with these characters. Maybe this was only a horrible nightmare. He pinched himself and was disappointed to find himself very much awake.

Just then, Ziva entered the bullpen area and gave a curious look at the people assembled before Gibbs. These are the new hires?" she asked, looking very unimpressed.

"Hubba hubba, doll face," Ramirez said with a broad grin at Ziva. "You are the ray of sunshine that has been missing from my life."

Ziva looked at Gibbs, an incredulous look on her face. "This...this fool is Tony's replacement?"

"Hey baby, don't knock it until you've tried it." Ramirez was not the least bit discouraged. "Once you've taken a ride on the Ramirez Rocket, you'll never be satisfied with another man."

"Oh my God." Ziva couldn't stand listening to him for one more second. In a flash, she had Miguel flattened on the floor and she gave a self satisfied smile. This one definitely wouldn't be around for long. She would see to that. Tony and the others would be back very soon if she had anything to say about it.

"Ziva…" Gibbs started, but didn't bother to finish. Ramirez was getting up off the floor and looked more embarrassed than hurt. Gibbs didn't feel it was necessary to make an issue of it unless Ramirez decided he wanted to. He brightened slightly as he looked at a clock and saw the time. "It's almost time for your orientation," he announced to the group, eager for them to just leave. "I'll see you all later."

He and Ziva watched as they walked away in single file. "I had no idea it could be so bad," Ziva stated. "What are we going to do?"

Gibbs shook his head. "I don't know, Ziva, but I need to do something. I can't just let this go on. There's no way it will work like this."

He was going to have to talk to the people in charge. Tony, Abby, Ducky and Tim all deserved to be treated better than this. They had been loyal to NCIS for seven years. They couldn't just be replaced at the drop of a hat. They were more than just co-workers. They were a family. There had to be something he could do. He needed to find a way for them to stay.

**AN2: I see now that David McCallum has signed a contract to remain on the show but left Ducky in the story anyhow – hopefully the rest of the cast members will follow along behind him. Keep your fingers crossed :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Just a little add on chapter now that everything has been resolved (yay!) Just pure silliness :)**

xxxxx

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was beside himself. He had thought he would have begun to develop some kind of a bond with his new team members, but every day found it was getting worse, not better. He had tried talking with the powers that be, but had been told, in no uncertain terms, to keep out of it. Salary negotiations were between employees and upper management and he had to leave it alone. He had also complained to Vance. If he had to have a new team, he at least wanted to be able to choose one himself, but his complaints fell on deaf ears. He swore the man was taking pleasure in his misery. It was getting so bad that he was having a hard time getting out of bed each morning.

"I...I ha...have that in...informa...ma...tion y...you wanted Sir...I me...mean, Gibbs..."

"Just leave it on my desk, Don," Gibbs replied with a heavy sigh. He had quickly learned that asking the young man to give a report was about as excruciating as getting his teeth pulled, one by one, without benefit of Novocaine. It just wasn't worth it. Don was eager to please, but his intense fear and lack of social skills were not the makings of a good field agent. Computer skills weren't everything. He missed McGee more and more each day. Don placed the papers on Gibbs' desk and slunk away without another word.

"So, I saw Tony last night," Ziva stated, as she came up to Gibbs' desk.

"Yeah?" Gibbs brightened at the mention of his ex senior field agent's name. "How's DiNozzo doing?"

"He is not doing well. He does nothing but watch DVDs all day long and eat pizza." Ziva was clearly disturbed by Tony's behavior. "I don't even think he ever leaves his apartment."

"Damn." Gibbs wasn't at all happy to hear that. It sounded like Tony had sunk into a depression. "Did he mention anything about his negotiations?"

Ziva shook her head. "He did not want to talk about it."

Gibbs rubbed his temples wearily. He missed DiNozzo more than he could have imagined. His ability to lighten things up, even under the most trying circumstances, was especially missed. He sure as hell could use a laugh or two. He would have to try to make the time to go visit Tony one of these days. It was just hard to do so. His paperwork was falling more and more behind and there just weren't enough hours in the day. "Hey, Ziva? Do you mind going down to the lab to see if Gabby has anything?"

"Of course, Gibbs." She had come to realize that Gibbs now avoided going down to the lab unless it was absolutely necessary that he do so.

"Thanks." He wasn't particularly fond of going to the lab these days. Gabby had decorated the lab with all kinds of cute little stuffed animals in pastel colors and had a penchant for listening to country music. Gibbs knew Abby would be appalled by what this girl had done to her lab and he found it painful to even go down there. She even had a Barbie doll dressed in a pink jumpsuit, sitting in a matching pink corvette and Ziva had informed him that she despised Caf Pows and only drank milk.

"Good morning, Jethro."

"Good morning, Ducky," Gibbs replied then he looked up in amazement to see his old friend smiling at him. It really was Ducky! "Ducky? It's really you! How are you? What are you doing here? Are you back to work?"

"Indeed I am, Jethro. It is very good to see you, though you are looking a bit weary. Have you been getting enough rest?"

"I'm pretty sure I'll be sleeping a bit easier now that you're back, Duck," Gibbs replied with a smile. Truthfully, Birdy had been the least offensive of all the new team members, but he was definitely no Ducky and Gibbs was overjoyed to have his old friend back with him.

"Gibbs? I'm sorry to interrupt, but you are needed down in the lab," Ziva said as she happily embraced Ducky. "It's so good to have you back, Ducky."

"Good to see you as well, my dear."

"I'll be back soon," Gibbs said to Ducky as he headed towards the elevator, the familiar feeling of dread beginning to form in the pit of his stomach. He just could not warm up to Gabby. There was just something very odd about her. Not that Abby wasn't odd too, but it was just very different. This girl was more creepy than odd. Maybe he wasn't being fair though. He supposed he needed to try a little bit harder. He didn't really want to though. What he really wanted was to get Abby back. The elevator doors opened and Gibbs made his way into Gabby's lab. The first thing he saw was Barbie's pink corvette upside down on the floor and the unfortunate decapitated Barbie lying beside it. Unsure what to make of it and deciding ignorance was bliss, Gibbs called out for Gabby.

"Gibbs!" It wasn't Gabby, but Abby who came flying out at him like a bat out of hell and threw herself into his arms. "I missed you so much. What's up with all these toys, Gibbs? It looks like my lab was taken over by a bunch of girl scouts. And where are all my CDs? I can't stand listening to this country crap."

"Its so good to see you, Abs," Gibbs said, returning her embrace. "I have your CDs up in my desk. I was going to bring them to your apartment, but now, I don't have to." Two down, two to go. Could he even dare to hope that DiNozzo and McGee might return as well?

"Its great to be back," Abby stated happily.

"I'll let you get settled," Gibbs said. "When I come back, I'll bring your CDs and the biggest Caf Pow you've ever seen."

"I'll hold you to that, bossman."

Gibbs headed back up to the bullpen and realized that he had not yet seen Ramirez that morning. His lateness was becoming a chronic problem. "Where the hell is Ramirez?" Gibbs asked, looking around for some sign of Tony's obnoxious replacement.

"I have no idea, boss, but maybe I can help you out instead?"

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs swung around and was so ecstatic to see his senior field agent that he pulled Tony into a hug.

"Hugs, boss?" Tony asked, clearly surprised but pleased by the gesture. "No head slaps?"

Gibbs grinned and smacked Tony on top of his head. "How's that, DiNozzo?"

"I missed you too, boss" Tony said, grinning back at Gibbs.

"Get to work, DiNozzo." Gibbs directed a mock growl at his agent who just smiled and headed to his desk.

"You've got it, boss," Tony said as he settled back at his desk, quickly feeling as if he had never even left. His attention was quickly drawn to McGee's replacement and he went over to his desk to introduce himself. "Hi, I'm Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, Gibbs' senior field agent, and you are?"

"His name is Donald McPherson. It is good to have you back, Tony," Ziva said.

"Nice to meet ya, Donny."

"You need to call him Donald or Don."

"Huh?"

"He does not like the nickname, Donny, Tony," Ziva explained, smiling at Tony as she walked back to her desk.

"How do you know that if he doesn't say anything?" Tony asked Ziva before looking back at Donald. "That true, Donny?" he asked the young man who just stared back at him silently. "Uh...Can you answer me?" He asked the question slower and louder but still got no response.

"Ooookay..." This guy was more than just a little bit weird. Shaking his head in bewilderment, Tony walked over to Gibbs. "Hey, boss? What's the deal with Mc-Mute?"

"He needs to get used to you, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied, smiling in spite of himself. "You're probably scaring him. He's a tad on the timid side."

"I'm scaring him? Come on, boss. You can't be serious." Tony looked back at Gibbs incredulously. "How does he question witnesses or interrogate suspects?"

Gibbs shrugged. "He doesn't really do those things."

"He doesn't?" Tony looked away from Gibbs, back at Donald and then back at Gibbs again. "Is this a joke? Am I on Candid Camera?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Nope."

"And you're okay with Mc-Silent Partner?" Tony asked, still trying to wrap his head around the situation.

"Don't really have a choice, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, lowering his voice.

"Oh...okay, gotcha, boss. Donald it is then." Mumbling to himself under his breath, Tony headed back to his desk. "Never thought I would miss McGee so much..."

"Awww, Tony. I didn't think you cared..."

"McGoo!" Tony looked up, obviously happy to see the young agent.

"Are you back to work, McGee?" Gibbs asked, almost afraid to hope that he had his entire team back intact.

McGee nodded. "Yep, ready and rarin' to go, boss."

"It's good to have you back, Probie," Tony said, patting McGee's shoulder.

"Welcome back, Tim." Gibbs shook the young agent's hand and looked over at McGee's desk. "Where's Don?" he asked Ziva. He couldn't help but feel a little bad about the other agent. It wasn't his fault he was so ill suited to be a field agent. He would be much better off in a strictly computer type job.

"He left as soon as McGee showed up," Ziva replied.

Oh well, he would catch up with him later. Gibbs smiled as Abby came up from downstairs and gave Tim, then Tony one of her patented Abby hugs. The important thing was that the contract situations had been resolved and he now had his entire team back. Gibbs was a very happy man, indeed.


End file.
